Unwinding thread



I spools or other types. of

Patented June 17, 1941 UNITED STATES" PATENT OFFICE,

James Barrel Parker, Rome, 6a., assignor to 'lnbize Chatillon Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application June 28, 1940, Serial No. 342,845

This invention relates to the unwinding of thread from a yarn package or the like, and has for its object the provision of certain improvements in unwinding thread irom yarn packages. The invention aims more particularly to provide an improved practice and apparatus for unwinding rayon thread from initially unsupported annular packages or cakes of bobbin-spun or potspun yarn onto cones, spools, or the like.

Various forms of rayon cone winding machines are in use, difi'ering somewhat in construction according to the particular demands made upon them and the particular purposes for which they are intended. In general, these machines comprise an appropriate stationary support for the yarn package, a cone winding spindle and cooperating traverse guide for drawing the thread oi?! the package and winding it into the contemplated cone, and intermediate devices for conditioning and tensioning the'thread. The present invention is particularly concerned with the yarn package support for'such machines, and contemplates an improved yarn package support upon which initially unsupportedyarn packages may be readily'mounted and operatively sup- Ported with suflicient tension to asure complete unwinding of all the yarn without sloughing 'oif and without injury to the yarn.

In the production of rayon thread or yarn, it is now common practice to subject the yarn to certain treatments, particularly preshrinking and ry n in the form of an unsupported package. To this end the yarn is wound upon some form of collapsible bobbin, and is removed from the bobbin and subjected to the contemplatedtreat- I ment operations in the form 'of a substantially annular package or cake, .without any supporting means. Thepresent invention isespecially adopted for unwinding the thread of such an unsupported package and winding it into cones, finished commercial packages or put-u s r In accordance with the present invention, the

substantially annular yarn package is placed upon a supporting arbor positioned within the package and tightly pressingagainst the interior surface thereof, and as thethread is unwound from the package, in the course of cone winding,

7, the pressure exerted by the arbor against the f interior surface of the package progressively de- .creases. The arbor, in its preferred form, is made of two relatively movable parts, one of spring normally the movable part of the spring, into their contacting operative positions for placing the yarn package thereon at the I start of the unwinding operation.

The invention will be better understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanyin drawings, in which which is secured to a. stationary base and the other isarranged to slide on the base towards and away from the part secured to the base. A

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of one unit of a cone winding machine embodying the invention,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of .theimproved yarn package support of the invention with the two relatively movable parts .of the arbor closed tol receive a yarn package, which is shown thereon, Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the yarn package s ppo Fig. 4 is a top plan of the yarn package support with the two relatively movable parts of the arbor in their contacting operative positions, 1. e. closed, 7

Fig. 5 is a top plan of the yarn package support with the two relatively movable parts of the arbor in their operative positions most remote irom one another, and

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the stop-motion device.

The cone winding machine comprises a plurality of longitudinally adjacent units such as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. In this figure. the substantially annular and initially unsupported yarn package I0 is shown operatively mounted on the expanding two-part supporting arbor of the invention. The'thread or yarn II is drawn from the package, in the unwinding and coning operation, and wound into the form irame II. A longitudinally extending cake board It is secured to the lower part of the frame II by brackets l8, and the yarn package supports of the invention are carried by and secured to the cake board. The yarn package support comprises a circular base plate II, preferably of mediate operative positions.

metal, although it may be of wood or any other suitable material. Apertured lugs 2| depend from the base plate 20 and rest on the board l8 to support the plate in spaced parallel relationship with the board. Bolts 22 pass through the apertures in the lugs 2| and secure the base plate 7 to the cake board.

The relatively movable two-part arbor 2324 v the two parts is generally elliptical ineach of their limiting operative positions (i. e. contacting, Fig. 4, and most remote from one another, Fig. 5), with the longer axis of the elliptical contour of one position (Fig. 4) at right angles to the longer axis of the elliptical contour of the other position, wherefore the effective operating contour of the two parts is substantially circular through a short range of their inter- The'parts 23 and 24 may advantageously be molded of Bakelite or othersuitable plastic material, or may be made of metal, wood or hard rubber.

The movable arbor part 24 has a transverse and vertically elongatedrecess or opening 21 formed therein (Figs. 1 and 3). lever 28, pivoted on a pin 29 secured to a bracket 3|] depending from the board l8, has its upper arm extending through a slot 3| in the board, and its other (lower) arm extending outwardly in front of the yarn package support. The end ,of the upper lever arm extends into the recess 21 of the movable arbor part 24, and is provided with a slot 32 through which extends a pin 33 secured in the opposite side walls of the recess. The lower lever arm is provided with treadle 34.

A coiledtension spring 35 is attached at one end to the upper lever arm, above the board l8, and has its other end attached to an eye bolt 36 securedto and projecting above the board IS. A guard 31 covers the spring 35. The spring 35 is so formed that its tension, and hence the force, exerted to pull the upper lever arm toward the main frame l1 (i. e. towards the right in Fig. 1), increases substantially as the upper lever arm is moved away from the frame (i. e. towards the left in Fig. 1). k

In practicing the invention, the operator depresses the foot treadle 34 and thereby causes the upper lever arm to move the arbor part 24 into its contacting position with the cooperating arbor parts 23 (Figs. 2 and 4). The unsupported package or cake of yarn I0, covered with th customary protective fabric stocking I0, is then placed on the arbor, whereupon the operator releases the foot treadle. The spring 35 now acts to pull the movable arbor part 24 away from the stationary arbor part 23, thus causing the arbor to tightly grip the inside surface of the yarn package. The stocking I0 i then unwrapped from outside the yarn package and .the top part of the stocking is tucked within the A bell crank a foot ing. Winding-off is then started by threading a single'thread of the yarn package through the guides l3 and I4, tension device It and onto the cone winding spindle l2.

The maximum tension of the spring 35 is exerted to the beginning of the unwinding operation,-'when the wall of the yarn package is thickest. As the wall of the yarn package be-.- comes thinner, the arbor expands because of the decreased restraining effect of the yarn package, and simultaneously the tension of the spring 35 correspondingly decreases. Thus, the greatest pull of the spring on the movable arbor part is exerted at the commencement of unwinding, and thi pull gradually and progressively decreases as the unwinding operation proceeds.

In order to limit the expansion of the two-part arbor, a stop-motion device is preferably provided. In the drawings, this device is shown as a wedge-shaped plate 39 secured to the depending front flange of the cake board l8 by a bolt 40 extending through a slot 4| in the plate. As the arbor expands, in unwinding, the foot treadle 34 rises until it contacts the inclined lower edge of the plate 39, thereby limiting further movement of the movable arbor part 24. By means of the bolt 40 and slot 4|, the point of contact of the foot treadle with the inclined lower edge of the plate can be varied to suitably adjust the limit of expansion of the arbor. In the absence of some means for limiting the expansion of the arbor, the last few wraps of yarn may be objectionably strained or stretched, thereby altering or even impairing the quality'of the corresponding lengths of yarn.

The characteristic feature and advantage of the invention is that the two-part arbor presses tightly and effectively against the inside surface of the yarn package at all stages in the unwinding operation, but with a force that progressively decreases as the annular thickness of the yarn package decreases. Thus, the tension of the spring 35 keeps both parts .of the arbor always tightly in contact with the inside of the yarn package, the stronger pull of the spring being exerted at the beginning of the operation, and as the yarn is wound off and the thickness of the package becomes thinner and the resistance to expansion consequently less, the spring itself exerts a correspondingly diminished pull. This is a particularly important feature of the invention, since it is desirable to ease the force exerted against the inside of the yarn package as the package thins out, while at the same time maintaining just sufficient tension to insure secure holding of the package to prevent sloughing 011', thus insuring complete unwinding of the yarn and consequently no waste, with no injury to the yarn and with a minimum of breakages.

I claim:

I 1. A support for a yarn package comprising a base, a two-part arbor adapted to be surrounded by and to tightly grip ayarn package, one part of said arbor being secured to said base and the other part of the arbor being arranged to slide on the base into contact with and away from the part of the arbor secured to the base, and tension means normally biasing the sliding part of the arbor to its operative position most remote from the other part of the arbor.

2. A support for a yarn package comprising a base, an arbor mounted on said base and adapted to be surrounded by and to tightly grip a yarn I Package, said arbor having a relatively fixed member secured to said base and a. cooperating movable member slidably mounted on said base for movement towards and away irom said fixed member, a lever operatively connected to said movable member for moving it towards said fixed member, and tension means for moving said movable member away from said fixed'membe'r with a force that progressively decreases as the distance between the members. increases.

3. A support for a'yarn. package comprising a base, a two-part arbor operatively mounted on said base and adapted to be surrounded by and to tightly grip the interior surface of a substantially annular yarn package, one part of said arbor being secured to said base and the other part or the arbor being arranged to move towardsand away from the part of the arbor secured to the base, guidemeans operatively attached to the said base for guiding the movable part of the arbor as t moves towards and'away from the part or the arbor secured to the base, a spring normally biasing the moving part of the arbor to its operative position most remote from the other part or the arbor, the force exerted upon said moving part by said spring progressively decreasing as the distance between the two parts of the arbor increases, and means for moving said moving part towards the other part of the arbor and against the tension exerted by said spring.

wards the other part of the arbor and against the force exerted by said tension'means.

5, A support for a yarn package comprising a base, an arbor mounted on said base and adapted to be surrounded by and to tightly grip a yam package, said arbor having a relatively fixed member secured to said base and a cooperating movable member slidabiy mounted in guides on said base for movement towards and away from said fixed member, a lever operatively connected to said movable member for moving it towards said fixed member, tension means for moving said movable member away from said fixed member with a force that progressively decreases as the distance between the members increases, and adiustable means cooperating with said lever for limiting the movement of said movable member away from said fixed member.

8. A support for a yarn package comprising a base, a two-part arbor operatively mounted on said base and adapted to be surrounded by and to tightly grip the interior surface of. a substantially annular yarn package, one part or said arbor being secured to said base and the other part or the arbor being arranged to slide on the base towards and away from the part of the arbor secured to the base, each part of said arbor having 4. A support for a yarn package comprising a base, a two-part arbor operatively-mounted on said base and adapted to be surrounded by and to tightly grip the interior surface of a substantially annular yarn package, one part of the arbor being secured to said base and the other part oi.-

the arbor being arranged to slide in guides towards and away from the part of the arbor secured to the base, each or said arbor parts having a cylindrical outer contour with a circumferential periphery slightly less than half the circle, tension means normally biasing the sliding part of arbor to its operative position most remote from the other part or the arbor with a force varying inversely as the distance between flie two arbor a cylindrical outer contour of such circumferential periphery that the eilective operative contour of the two parts of the arbor is elliptical in both of their limiting operative positions but with the longer axis or the elliptical contour 0! one position at right angles to the longer axis of theelliptical contour of the other position, a spring normally biasing the sliding part of the arbor to its operative position most remote i'rom the other part 01' the arbor, the force exerted upon said sliding part by said spring progressively decreasing as the distance between the two parts of the arbor increases, and means for moving said slidins part towards the other part of the arbor and against the tension exerted bysaid spring.

p and means for moving said-sliding Jams nonsmmam. 

